Darkness surrounded him again. The black mist was comforting, and he was slowly able to regain consciousness.
"Again, someone killed me a second time."
He began to hit the air with his fists. Venting his anger as he went back over the fight in his mind. Was it magic or some kind of secret ability?
"That wasn't magic. I didn't expect to see you so soon, boy." Zek appeared in front of the young man.
His appearance had changed slightly, his left arm had disappeared.
"What happened to you? Have you been spying on me all along?" He asked as he watched his benefactor.
"No, I only read your memories when you returned to this place. I must say that you are unlucky. Your second death was just a couple of hours after your reincarnation. HAHA"
"Is my suffering so funny?"
"Calm down, child. I don't make fun of you. On the contrary, I pity you for having such bad luck to be confronted by a murderer of The Hand so soon."
"The Hand. What is that?" He asked, interested in knowing who his enemy was.
"The Hand is the best group of assassins on the continent. There are few members. The five leaders are known as the fingers. They have contacts in various nations and lairs. If you are looking for someone for an illegal job, they are your best option, but their prices are exorbitant"
"That boy who called himself Sebastian was probably an apprentice"
"Just an apprentice? I thought you gave me the power to do whatever I wanted, but now you tell me that someone so strong is just an apprentice. How strong are the people in this world?"
"It depends on the person, but that little fight you had with that killer? Well, it's not even a tenth part of the fights I had to face" Although he didn't have a smile, Edgar couldn't help but feel that Zek had an arrogant expression while talking.
"More importantly, the fact that I'm here again means you're going to resurrect me again" He put courtesies aside and asked directly.
"You understand quickly, but don't think I can revive you as many times as I want. Pay attention to what I'm going to tell you, child. " Zek raised his index finger from his hand and began to explain"
"When I gave you my power, you adapted much better than I thought. So well that you should have originally transformed into an undead skeleton, yet you managed to retain your life without totally detaching yourself from it. You transformed into a lord of darkness, a living being that possesses both physical and magical abilities. This added to my necromantic powers that have given you a phylactery"
"The black book with my knowledge is your phylactery. With it, you can revive yourself as long as the book is not destroyed"
"I can revive as long as the book is not destroyed. Do I understand how long it will take me to come back to life?" He asked excitedly about his new ability.
"With your current level of power, I would say about 100 years"
"100 YEARS! It's too much the book will be unusable after a couple of rains, or it can be destroyed by an animal"
"That's exactly why I´m offering you the following. When I revived you, I had to use much of my power, so I lost one of my arms. But I can still do it again. I would say about twice at most. So, I'll revive you on the condition that you don't fight that killer again. What do you think?"
"What, why did you put that condition on me now? Before, you said, I can do what I want with your powers"
"Because if you die in vain again, my knowledge will have been lost. My revenge against those I despise is that my necromantic powers continue to exist in this world. If you die because you tried to defeat a stronger opponent without any plan, then my last wish has failed, and I am a fool for having bet on you"
"I don't care, you said I could do whatever I wanted. And what I want to do more than anything is TO KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH! If you are not going to revive me, then I will wait for 100 years myself, and I will find a way to revive that bastard, or at least go and destroy his grave. I will not continue to do things as others demand of me. You are no exception either!" He screamed as he responded to his savior, rejecting the proposal.
"I understand. I can't force you. That's why it was a proposal. But are you willing to leave that woman to her death?"
"..."
Edgar didn't expect that answer. That woman, Lia, had nothing to do with him; she was simply the target of the murderer. They had no relationship. Why did he have to care what happened to that crying young woman. However...
"..."
He couldn't speak, because his lips didn't move. In his mind, images of Lia kept popping up. It was the brief moments they had together, the tears welling up in her eyes, her expression of shame when she didn't want to admit her sadness, the panic when she saw the undead wolf, and the elegant way she introduced herself. No matter, that has nothing to do with me.
"Although death could be considered a mercy in some places. Her fate could be tortured by information in her family, used for human experiments, sold into slavery and abused"
"Let's bet! If you revive me, I will go and kill that bastard. If I survive, then I will do things my way. But if he kills me again, then you can give your power to someone else"
"The ritual to bring a soul from another world is complicated. I no longer have the strength to perform it, unless- "
"Use my soul as an offering," He replied without hesitation. Apparently, you are not the only one who can know what the other one thinks. If you use my soul, you can bring another to take my place"
"Are you willing to sacrifice your chance to continue living?"
"Of course, I told you I'll do things my way, that's all I care about. Living by someone else's rules is not something I´m willing to do anymore"
"Then touch my hand and let us form a contract between our souls" He stretched out his hand so that Edgar could touch it. "I won't offer you any help; you'll have to formulate your plan on your own"
"No problem, you have already helped me enough." He said, with a smile on his face.
When their hands touched, the contract between the two was formed. Immediately, Zek's arm disintegrated and transformed into pure energy.
You said it wasn't magic. So, it was some kind of skill. And if I possess magical and physical abilities from being a Lord or whatever, then I have an idea of how to deal with it. With a plan forming in his mind, Edgar was preparing for revenge.
The energy surrounded Edgar in greater darkness, and again, for the second time, he revived in a new world.
[Level obtained: Lord of darkness 2]
[Skill Created: Re....
Lia was sitting on the ground. It was an old wooden floor, but stable. Surrounded by four walls. In a corner, several liquors lie waiting to be opened. The tears had dried up in the wood, and she couldn't cry anymore. She still had the image present of the death of Edgar.
How has it all ended this way? The answer was simple. It's my fault. Yes, it was her fault alone. Because her tantrum caused her to escape into the woods alone, because she wasted time crying for herself until he arrived, and because she didn't go with her kidnapper quietly before they started fighting.
The image of that innocent's head falling to the ground was still alive in her mind. This was the price of her guilt. She would have to live with that image for the rest of her life. After killing Edgar, the killer quickly ended up with his pet/companion, and although she was going to try to flee, she was quickly knocked out. All to wake up in that little wooden room, only with her sins.
Suddenly, the door opened and a familiar figure appeared in front of her.
"Woke up? Relax, we will only be here for a couple more hours. We will leave in a carriage for where the customer is." The blond killer spoke calmly. The damage from the battle had been cleaned off of his armor, and the bite on his arm had been bandaged.
"I brought you something to eat." From his clothes, he took out a sweet bread and a bottle of juice. "I know the rich merchants are used to better food, but it's the best thing I can do for the time being, my humble apologies"
He bowed and offered her food. Quickly, Lia got up and took the bottle. She attacked her captor, who still had his head down. But it was too slow.
Without even having to raise his head, the killer caught her hand with the bottle. Although Lia tried to attack, her other arm was quickly caught.
"Ah let go." She tried to struggle, but it was useless. His opponent was much stronger.
"Miss Lia, please don't force me to be rough with you. My client informed me that I must capture you alive, but if necessary, I have permission to immobilize you as I see fit." The look he threw at her was that of a child playing, totally opposite to the intention of his words.
He let go of the young woman's arms and, after putting the bread and bottle next to the liquor, he left the room.
"I'm glad you understand your situation." With a smile, the door closed.
Again, alone, Lia sat on the floor. Weak, useless, you are just a burden to your family. What is the reason you were born into this world? Admonishing herself was the only thing she could do. It was the thing she had to do so as not to forget the damage she caused to her family and...
"Edgar... I´m sorry." With an almost imperceptible sound, she asked for forgiveness from the one who died because of her.
He woke up in the middle of the forest. His first reaction was to touch his neck, he was unharmed. He still had the clothes Lia had lent him, but now they had cuts. The black book was in his pocket intact. He had come back to life without problems.
He began to see his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the undead wolf that was now completely dead. He had a couple of cuts on his jaw and abdomen.
"I know I killed you first, but I still feel bad about what that bastard did to you."
He apologized to the animal and kept searching the surrounding area. There must be something that tells me where they went. He tried to see some trace, but his eyes were not trained.
He had no idea where Lia could have been taken. The sun was still up, so it should only have been a couple of hours. He tried to think of some way to find them, but the smell of the rotten corpse had become very strong.
The smell, that is. He took his own sleeve and began to sniff like a dog. He found it hard to concentrate, but he could smell it. The scent of Lia was still a little on the clothes.
The trace of Lia's smell was going south.
I have it I will go to save you, please I hope you are fine, if that bastard did something to you... Like lightning, he ran toward the path the smell told him to.
The question came up again in his mind. Why did he care about this woman he had barely met? This time, the answer did not take long to appear. Because she cried for me. They were not tears of surprise or terror, they were of genuine sadness. That is what I saw on her face. I do not need more, I have to return the favor.
Amid the sea of darkness, the giant skeleton without arms floated quietly, happy with itself.
I told you we were similar kid. I forbid your revenge, to give you a specific goal, to make you believe that I didn't know you could read my mind. They are just tricks to motivate you child. Even if you offer your soul, the ritual cannot be repeated. That's why I need you to take action, think, and overcome the obstacles in your way. Thus, my knowledge will never die.